Agree with what mac just said: The stuff on the CD is waaaaay out of date. Look up the latest Versions of all the mods, packs and shipsets. I think there's a sticky thread at the top of this forum to help you find them, or you could just go to Fyron's site- that seems to have everything. Check his sig earlier in this thread.
Essential:
-Mod Launcher and/or se4 companion.
-TDM modpack (latest Version).
-As many user races as you can be bothered to download (ALL available races are listed
here )
My personal recommendations on top of all that:
-Image mod (unless you're on dialup- huge download)
-FQM
-Adamant and some of the other "new generation" mods.
-Proportions mod
-Devnullmod
-Pirates & Nomads mod
-Neo-expansion pack and proportional response pack (click my banner)